In the first article in this series, I looked at the point where stability can quietly become dependency – when a service appears to be running well, but much of that stability relies on one very capable Registered Manager. And overdependence doesn't always look like a problem. The rota is covered. Problems are dealt with. Clients are supported. In fact, the service may be performing very well.

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But there is a difference between a service that works well because of its Registered Manager and one built to work well around them.

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Sometimes the easiest way to see that difference is when the RM isn't there - The annual leave test!  What actually happens when your Registered Manager takes two weeks' annual leave?

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Over the years, I've seen this play out in very different ways:

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There is the capable deputy who steps up and keeps everything running but still reaches out to the RM when they are unsure and the RM told them it's fine to call.  Nothing falls apart – but while the RM is trying to be present with their family in Tenerife, they're still answering questions and making decisions. They've gone on holiday, but they haven't really left the service.

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Then there is the deputy who stays firmly within their own role. They're not being paid to be the Registered Manager, after all. They keep things moving, but decisions and management tasks wait for the RM's return.

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At the other extreme is the enthusiastic deputy, determined to prove they can hold the fort, but without the experience to distinguish what needs attention, what they can resolve and what can safely wait. Suddenly, everything becomes an issue.

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And then there is the deputy who simply gets on with it. They're confident without needing to prove anything. They understand what they can deal with, what needs escalating and what can wait. They keep people informed, make sensible decisions and keep the service moving.

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The RM comes back having actually had two weeks away - but this hasn't happened by accident. Those teams have always interested me, because the difference isn't necessarily that they employ more capable people. Something in the way that team operates has allowed that capability to develop.

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What is written down – and what only exists in the RM's head?

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Experienced Registered Managers carry an extraordinary amount of knowledge. They know their clients, staff, families and service. They see flexibility in an apparently full rota. They remember what was tried six months ago and why it didn't work. Much of that is judgement built through experience.

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But how much of what keeps the service running is actually captured somewhere? When roles aren't clear, processes aren't documented or important knowledge isn't shared, people naturally return to the person who knows.

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Ask the manager. She'll know.

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And every time that happens, dependency is given a little more room to grow.

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Not everything can – or should – be written down. But there's a difference between valuing an RM's experience and needing access to them for the service to function effectively. Sometimes being indispensable becomes part of the RM's professional identity too. The service is their baby. They care deeply about it and being the person everybody comes to can become part of how they measure their value. That isn't necessarily ego. More often, I've seen it come from commitment.

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But it can still create dependency.

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People – capability doesn't develop by accident but when the RM consistently has the answer, it is easy for everybody else to stop needing to find one.

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That doesn't mean the team lacks ability or ambition. Sometimes they simply haven't been given the opportunity, authority or support to develop their own judgement. Someone can have a senior role, but still look to the RM whenever a decision needs to be made. The RM remains indispensable – and the more indispensable they become, the harder it is for capability around them to grow.

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Quality – when everything becomes urgent, an overdependent service can become exceptionally good at dealing with whatever is immediately in front of it.

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An uncovered call needs resolving. A complaint needs responding to. A medication concern needs investigating. A family needs somebody to call them. But when everything starts to feel urgent, it becomes increasingly difficult to recognise what genuinely is. Meanwhile, the audit can wait. The supervision can be rearranged. The complaint is resolved, but nobody quite gets around to looking across the last five complaints for a pattern.

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This is how governance gets squeezed out.

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Not because people don't care about quality, but because urgent repeatedly beats important. But knowing a service isn't quite the same as having effective organisational oversight.

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Growth – when keeping things running becomes enough, overdependence can also have a quieter commercial cost.

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Imagine the RM is away and two new enquiries arrive. The rota looks full. A deputy may quite reasonably decide there isn't capacity and turn them away. An experienced RM might look at exactly the same rota and see something different – a conversation that could be had, some capacity that could be moved, an opportunity worth exploring.

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The difference may be judgement, confidence and experience – but it can also be the desire and drive to grow the service.

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I've seen services where, in the RM's absence, everybody is extremely busy managing the service – but growth quietly pauses. Nothing catastrophic happens. The service simply misses opportunities it might otherwise have taken.

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Eventually, the capacity of the RM becomes the capacity of the service.

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And that is perhaps the real cost of overdependence: An exhausted RM. An underdeveloped team. Governance competing with operational pressure. Growth constrained by one person's capacity.

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None of that means the RM isn't good enough. Quite often, the dependency has developed precisely because they are so good.

Strengthening the service around them shouldn't mean diminishing their role.

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So how do we build capability around a great Registered Manager without leaving them feeling undermined?

 

That's what I'll explore in the final article in this series:

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How do you strengthen the service without undermining the Manager

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